Last week, the lower house of the French parliament (the National Assembly) passed a bill tightening rules for entering the country for permanent residence. The law is called “On Selective Immigration” because it mainly applies to citizens of countries outside the European Union, reports the Independent Online news agency. The author of the bill is French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy.
The vote on the bill was preceded by heated debates. Critics of the bill consider it racist. If it is adopted, they claim, all newcomers will be marked with an indelible stigma, and the poorest will face particular discrimination, which will “undermine France’s traditional role as a promised land for all the oppressed and persecuted,” writes Independent Online.
Responding to critics at a parliamentary session, Sarkozy stressed that adopting the law would merely “put France on a par with other countries,” reports Le Monde. The unrest that swept French suburbs populated by immigrants from Africa and the Middle East in November 2005, he stressed, shows that many immigrants cannot adapt to life in France and integrate into French society. This means that “the current system of immigration and adaptation is not coping with the tasks assigned to it.” “Immigration must be selective,” Sarkozy said.
Under the new law, citizens from non-EU countries who want to live in France will have to sign a contract pledging to learn French and respect the moral principles of the French Republic. In addition, the bill significantly complicates family reunification for this category of migrants and also lengthens the waiting time for a decision. Furthermore, the law eliminates the practice of automatically granting French citizenship to anyone who has lived in the country for more than ten years.
Entry into France will be allowed only for those who are working. It will be impossible to enter to live on welfare. At the same time, mainly only qualified specialists will be admitted, making it as difficult as possible for unskilled labor to come to France. Qualified specialists will initially have a three-year trial period in the country, and unskilled workers will only be admitted if certain specific sectors of the French economy need them.
Immediately after the vote, the bill came under a hail of criticism from the opposition, the church, and émigré circles. Demands for its repeal were heard at once. “The decision taken by the National Assembly throws us back 30 years,” reads a statement by the human rights Movement Against Racism. “From the perspective of all supporters of fundamental rights and freedoms of immigrants, this is a day of national shame and humiliation,” the document says.
In political circles, the law is criticized from both the left and the right. According to Socialist deputy Serge Blisko, “the text of the law contradicts fundamental human rights and strengthens xenophobia.” And the far-right leader Philippe de Villiers said that, in his opinion, France needs “not selective, but zero immigration.” Both the right and the left agree that “Sarkozy needs the law as a means of fighting in the presidential election campaign that has begun,” notes Le Figaro.
Nevertheless, 367 deputies of the lower house of parliament voted in favor of Sarkozy’s brainchild, while 164 voted against. Now the bill must be approved by the French Senate. Its session is scheduled for June, but Sarkozy will hear what people think of his bill sooner. He will soon have to visit Mali and Benin, traditionally suppliers of migrants to France, notes the French TV channel TF-1 with gloating.
Marina LEMUTKINA.
Газета.Ru